Thread by @AlexPetrovnia

Twitter is a public forum. The conversations had here aren’t for the advantage of the person you’re directly speaking to; they’re for an audience. There are limitations and advantages to this.

On one hand, the words a person says here are broadcast, sometimes to a wide audience. This allows people to have reach they would not otherwise have! But it also makes it impossible to avoid all misinterpretation of your words.

It also allows for your audience to give you direct feedback. Sometimes this is hurtful, and sometimes it is validating, but it is informative either way.

Misinterpretations of your words are bound to happen, however it’s important to clarify those points once you are aware they have been misinterpreted harmfully. It is also important to make efforts to avoid that harmful misinterpretation to proliferate.

While it is no one’s fault that misinterpretations are inevitable, I do believe that one of the responsibilities of having an audience is to do your best to not allow harmful rhetoric to proliferate — even if it wasn’t your fault!

Blame and responsibility are different concepts.
As much as I would love to be able to have conversations with people I’ve met on Twitter on a one to one basis, the reality is that that is not the space we’re occupying.

This leads to a few habits that I do on my Twitter, and that I encourage others to do as well.
1) be transparent about honest mistakes. Phrasing something unclearly happens! It’s not weakness to admit this.
2) do not take debates that have relevance to public issues into dms

It’s important for those following those debates to be able to see them in their entirety.
3) understand that unless you know a person on Twitter well, they are likely not speaking as an individual, but as the leader of their platform and audience.

This means that it may not be well received to be too familiar or the conversation may go very differently than it would in person. It also means the conversation is likely not about personal issues, but systemic ones.

*avoid allowing
Typo, rip

TLDR: effective and ethical communication in a social media space is very different than in an in-person space.
Think of Twitter as a panel you’re hosting, with different speakers stepping up and the audience members moving in and out at will (and also yelling things).

It’s a very different experience and method of communication than in-person conversation is. The panelists having conversations with each other or audience members will not, and should not, operate by the same customs of courtesy as a private in-person conversation would.

Lack of intent to harm is not the same as lack of harm.
Being responsible for preventing harm within your control is not the same as being at fault.
Being criticized for your writing is not the same as being personally insulted.
These are important to understand in digital space.